European Kingdoms

Celts of Armorica

Armorica

The Roman
name for the peninsula of land that protrudes from modern
France
into the Atlantic Ocean was Armorica. Now far better known as Brittany,
Armorica was the Latinised form of a
Celtic
word or name - Aremorio. The Romans had already coined the name 'Gaul' to
describe the Celtic tribes of what is now central, northern and eastern France.
The Gauls were divided from the
Belgae
to the north by the Marne and the Seine, but Belgic tribes had followed
the English Channel coastline to occupy and settle areas of Armorica too,
probably in the fifth century BC.

Aremorio means 'ar' ('at', or 'before', or 'next to'), plus 'mor/mare',
which means 'sea' or 'ocean'. In other words it means 'next to the sea',
or perhaps more colloquially 'beside the seaside'. The name was certainly
in use to describe the entire region of Brittany by the fifth century AD,
when migrants from
Britain
began to take over, but it is less clear when it began to be used as such an
umbrella term. (It may also have been used for other coastal locations such
as Aquitaine.)

Armorica provided a home to quite a bundle of Celtic tribes, all of which
were in place by the first century BC. These included the powerful
Veneti
tribe which dominated the other tribes, and also the
Ambiliati,
Boiocasses,
Diablintes,
Lexovii,
Menapii,
Morini,
Namniti,
Nannetes,
Osismii,
and Redones.
Once defeated by Rome (after a season of extremely hard campaigning) elements
of the defeated tribes under the leadership of the Veneti may have fed to
Britain and Ireland where
they formed two tribes of
Venicones, one in what
became Pictland and the other
in County Donegal as the Venicnii,
where both were attested by Ptolemy by AD 140. Julius Caesar's own claim
to have killed or enslaved all of the Veneti was clearly self-serving
propaganda aimed at his Roman constituency. Families with access to boats
would have gone to sea at night and sailed to Britain or Ireland to escape
him, both of which were outside Roman control. Families unable to escape
to sea would have fled inland into the highland (arden) forest of Armorica.
From hiding there they were able to re-emerge once the legions had departed,
and were able to re-inhabit their 'Vannetais'.

(Additional information by Edward Dawson, and from The La Tene Celtic
Belgae Tribes in England: Y-Chromosome Haplogroup R-U152 - Hypothesis C,
David K Faux, and from External Link:
The
Works of Julius Caesar: Gallic Wars. Other major sources listed in the
'Barbarian Europe' section of the Sources
page.)

c.325 BC

Pytheas
of Massalia undertakes a voyage of exploration to north-western Europe,
becoming the first scholar to note details about the
Celtic
and
Germanic
tribes there. One of the tribes he records is the Ostinioi - almost certainly
the Osismii
- who occupy Cape Kabaïon, which is probably pointe de Penmarc'h or pointe du Raz
in western Brittany. This means that the tribe has already settled the region by
the mid-fourth century, probably alongside their neighbours of later years, the
Veneti,
Cariosvelites,
and Redones.

The details recorded by Pytheas were interpreted by Ptolemy in
the second century AD, and this 1490 Italian reconstruction of
the section covering the British Isles and northern Gaul shows
Ptolemy's characteristically lopsided Scotland at the top

57 BC

The
Belgae
enter into a confederacy against the
Romans in
fear of Rome's eventual domination over them. They are also spurred on by Gauls
who are unwilling to see
Germanic
tribes remaining on Gaulish territory and are unhappy about Roman troops wintering
in Gaul. An army is collected against the Romans, but Caesar marches ahead of
expectations and, in a single campaigning season, the Belgic tribes are defeated
or surrender to Rome. According to Caesar, the
Aulerci,
Cariosvelites,
Osismii,
Redones,
Sesuvii,
Venelli, and
Veneti,
all of whom are located along the Atlantic coast, are subdued by the legion
of Publius Licinius Crassus. With this action, northern Gaul has been brought
under Roman domination.

56 BC

War
flares up again, triggered by Publius Licinius Crassus and the Seventh Legion
in the territory of the
Andes. With
supplies of corn running low, he sends scavenging parties into the territories
of the
Cariosvelites,
Esubii,
and the highly influential
Veneti.
The latter revolt against this infringement of their lands and possessions,
and the neighbouring tribes rapidly follow their lead, including the
Ambiliati,
Diablintes,
Lexovii,
Menapii,
Morini,
Namniti,
Nannetes, and
Osismii.

The campaign by Caesar against the Veneti is protracted and takes place
both on land and sea. Veneti strongholds, when threatened, are evacuated
by sea and the Romans have to begin again. Eventually the Veneti fleet is
cornered and defeated in Quiberon Bay by Legate Decimus Junius Brutus
Albinus. The Veneti strongholds are stormed and much of the Veneti
population is either captured and enslaved or butchered. The confederation
is destroyed and Roman rule is firmly stamped upon the region.

Elements of the Veneti tribe may flee to
Britain and
Ireland. When the Veneti
military falls, it is most likely the rich Veneti who climb aboard every ship
or boat they can find, perhaps taking some servants with them, or perhaps not
if there isn't enough room. Noble women, children, old men, and very young
men/older boys, and some surviving warriors are the occupants of these ships.

Roman auxiliaries in the form of the Aeduii on board a
Gaulish-built ship attack a Veneti vessel in Morbihan
Bay on the French Atlantic coast during the campaign
of 56 BC

Once
safe, the Veneti survivors form two tribes of
Venicones, one in what
becomes Pictland and the
other in County Donegal (the Vennicones or Vennicnii), where both are
attested by Ptolemy by AD 140. This split may be due to there being two
factions of Veneti. Those Veneti who do not manage to flee by water, mostly
serfs, remain in Armorica. Many of these are enslaved and sent to Rome to be
sold. But Caesar exaggerates wildly when he claims to capture or enslave the
entire population. Armorica is hilly and wooded - one of several places in
Britain and Gaul with a Coed Arden (Forest of Arden) which means 'high
forest', a forest on high ground (not in valleys). Large numbers of Veneti
will have fled into the forest to hide until it is safe to come out.

mid-300s AD

The Aremorio
people (in whatever form they now take) probably still occupy their ancestral
lands, but their long domination by
Rome
and integration into Roman society has left them unable to provide for their
own defence. The peninsula that bears their name begins to receive refugees from
Britain,
which is undergoing a period of disruption. Links established prior to the
coming of Rome between south-western Britain and Armorica seem to have been
maintained. Migration from Britain into Armorica appears to pick up
noticeably in the mid-fourth century.

4th century

The
arrival of greater numbers of
Britons
in the late fourth century establishes first a British colony and then a
kingdom that divides Armorica from
Roman
control. It also protects the Gaulish tribes of Armorica from absorption by
the incoming
Franks. Even today, there are people living in this region who still
claim to be from a Gaulish family. These people have a very non-Mediterranean
and non-Nordic appearance. Instead they look as though they have more in
common with the stockier
Irish, and the central
Welsh of
Powys. They retain their Gaulish
ethnicity intermingled with a Breton national identity.

Kings
of the Bretons (Vannetais / Britanni / Brittany)

The north-western corner of today's
France
was known during the
Roman
period as Armorica. It was home to several
Celtic
tribes that largely lost their identity following conquest by Rome. But one
of them did leave their name behind. The tribe of the
Veneti
had been the most powerful of Armorica's tribes, and that name gradually
changed during the Roman occupation to Vannetais. It's the same name, but
with a different suffix, and a shift in pronouncing the first vowel. The
name had a transition stage during which it was referred to as Guenet by
the Bretons. This name is precisely cognate to
Gwynedd, with any perceived
difference merely being down to different dialectal variants. Even
the island of Belle-Île-en-Mer (ar Gerveur in Modern Breton, or Guedel in
Old Breton) to the south of Brittany was known by the Romans as Vindilis,
preserving the link to the Veneti.

This was how Armorica was initially known to the
Britons who began migrating there in the fourth century AD, during a
period in which British town life appears to have declined. Links established
prior to the coming of Rome between south-western Britain and Armorica seem
to have been maintained. The low-key migration from Britain into Armorica
seems to have picked up noticeably in the mid-fourth century, but it became
a flood in the unsettled fifth century. Traditional certainly maintains that
the British colony in Armorica was founded before the expedition of
Constantine III in 407. People arrived mainly from the south-west of Britain,
from Dumnonia and
Cornubia, and each
group retained its ethnic name (ergo the people in each region knew exactly
what they were ethnically or tribally, regardless of who was king over
them).

This
new colony of Britons formed in a region that was beginning to drift out of
firm Roman control. The colony's traditional first king, Conan Meriadog,
ruled Armorica as the kingdom of Vannetais, maintaining the local Gaulish
tribal name. The very fact that this has been claimed as a kingdom by
multiple original sources certainly expresses a diminishing of Roman
control over the region. The area was permanently 'freed' of Roman control
by Magnus Maximus as the first stage of his invasion of Gaul in 383. Conan
was placed in command, with a probable capital in Vannes. Although Brittany
extended as far as Blois until 491, the land holdings outside its traditional
borders are vaguely described, and may not even have been part of the
kingdom's accepted territory.

The usual Celtic practice of dividing territory between sons soon created
the smaller principalities out of Vannetais during the course of the fifth
and sixth centuries whilst other Britons also popped over from the mainland
to found their own principalities. The old name of Vannetais appears to have
fallen out of use after its last remnant was renamed
Bro Erech, and the colony's
high kings simply termed themselves kings of the Bretons, or Brittany - the
land of the Britons. Although the principalities of Bro Erech,
Cornouaille,
Domnonia,
Leon and
Poher, are mentioned often in
Brittany, whenever the Bretons had dealings outside their borders only one
king of the Bretons is mentioned. It seems highly likely that these many
principalities operated on the same basis as their mainland
British equivalents
- petty kingdoms that vied with each other for power, but which acknowledged
the strongest king amongst them as their representative in external affairs,
and sometimes internal affairs too, when the interference warranted it.
Britain itself had a well-established tradition of recognising a high king,
and the later Anglo-Saxon invaders recognised the power of such a 'brand' by
adopting their own format of it in the
Bretwaldas.

After
circa 600, the kings of Domnonia appear to have gained precedence
over the others, which was always likely as this was Armorica's strongest
principality. From the reign of Iudicael onwards in the early seventh
century, the kings of Domnonia were also the kings of the Bretons for as
long as Brittany was a fully independent kingdom. The pedigree of the kings
in the seventh and eighth centuries is not certain, but Jean-Michel Pognat
conducted a critical study of sources for the history of the fifth to ninth
century Breton kings in an attempt to establish an historical king list. In
his work he put forward a believable construction, which to an extent is used
here and with one or two additional names thus supplied being shown in in
green.

The Cartuliary of Landevennec gives nineteen names as princes of
Cornouaille, some of whom are also kings of the Bretons (these names are
marked *), but it fails to give any relationships.
The Chronicles of Anjou provide a few key early dates in Brittany's
history, especially when it comes to mentioning the leftovers from the
invasion of Constantine II of Britain. Many of the early royal names are
shown in various formats, be it Breton/south-western British. or
Welsh, or even Latin. This
suggests that their lives have been recorded by multiple British royal
courts, although the later Welsh names should generally be dismissed for the
sake of accuracy.

The basis for the legal constitution of Brittany was late Roman jurisprudence,
and perhaps this survived because a high proportion of the British émigrés
were supposedly from the country's nobility. The ruling kings (and later
dukes and counts) were required to be well-trained in law so that they could
function as judges in the higher courts. This practice is known to have
continued into the High Middle Ages in Brittany and in Catalonia (Jonathan
Jarrett, a researcher into Catalan documents of the tenth century was
inspired by Julia Harris' work in Brittany). In the middle ages, literacy
rates were especially high in Brittany, so it is no coincidence that the
patron saint of lawyers is Ivo of Kermartin (the Breton 'Erwann').

(Additional information by Edward Dawson and Geoffrey Tobin, and from
Brittany: Many Kingdoms or One?, Jean-Michel Pognat, from Province
and Empire: Brittany and the Carolingians, Julia M H Smith, part of
The Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought series (1992),
from The Ethnology of Germany Part 3: The Migration of the Saxons,
Henry H Howorth (Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain
and Ireland, Vol 7, 1878), from The History of the Franks, Volume II,
Gregory of Tours (O M Dalton, Trans, 1967), from The History of
Normandy and of England, Francis Palgrave (1864), from English
Historical Documents c.500-1042: Chronicle of Nantes (Chapter 27),
Dorothy Whitelock (Ed, Second Edition, 1979), from Atlas historique
mondial, Georges Duby (Larousse, 1978), and from Genealogy of the
Kings of France, Claude Wenzler (Editions Ouest-France, Rennes,
2008).)

Magnus Maximus, military commander (high king?) in
Britain, is
credited by Geoffrey of Monmouth with setting up Conan Meriadoc as king in
Armorica. Conan is the rebellious nephew of Octavius, Maximus' predecessor
as high king in Britain, so this could have an element of getting him out of
harm's way in Britain. The relationship could make Octavius the father of
Maximus' wife, as Conan is also her cousin.

The landscape of Armorica - extremely hilly inland with a
wonderful, long coastline - would have seemed very familiar to
the Britons who began to settle here from the late fourth
century onwards (Glomel in the modern Côtes-d'Armor département
is shown here)

It
may be the case that the estimated dates used here for Conan are a little
adrift, and the earlier date may even represent a date of birth rather than
the beginning of his reign, as a reign of forty-seven years seems a little
long. By AD 388, as a result of Maximus' defeat, a large number of his
surviving troops seem to return to Armorica to settle there.

Erbin
seems also to be one Gradlon Mawr ('mawr' being a later Welsh word for
'great'). The fact that Erbin's son is also called Gradlon seems to cause
some confusion. One tale concerning Erbin sees him separated from his
entourage whilst out hunting. He becomes lost in the great Forest of
Menez-Hom (now located in Finistère in
Cornouaille). Almost
dead from exhaustion and hunger, he eventually stumbles across the hermitage
of St Corentin (now under the village of Plomodiern). St Corentin keeps him
sustained with a miraculous regenerating helping of fish and brings him
back to health. As a reward for his hospitality, Erbin makes St Corentin
the first bishop of Cornouaille.

Constantine
III, usurper Western
Roman
emperor and ruler of
Britain,
sends his son, Constans, and General Gerontius to Hispania to defeat the
cousins of Roman Emperor Honorius there and secure that province (Gerontius
could be the Gerenton mentioned in connection with
Domnonia in the Vannetais).
Stilicho's forces in
Italy
rebel and he is executed. As a result of this and intrigues at the imperial
court, plus the fact that Alaric's
Visigothic
army is roaming Etruria, Honorius is left powerless, and gladly accepts
Constantine as co-emperor.

409

The
Alans,
Suevi
and Vandali
enter Hispania, disrupting Constantine's hold on his territory. Gerontius
rebels against Constantine, and raises Maximus as his own puppet emperor.
With Constantine now in serious difficulties in
Gaul,
further
Saxon raids convince the British and Armoricans to rebel and expel Roman
officials, thereby breaking ties with
Rome
that are never renewed. Roman presence in Britain has been dwindling anyway,
for at least the previous three decades, so the split probably produces
little change, except that British officials now occupy former imperial
posts. Records from this point become extremely sparse and British control
on a national level appears to break down for a time.

The main bodies of the Vandali, Alans, and Suevi tribes
crossed the Rhine at the end of 406, resulting in panic
and chaos within the Roman empire

410

Historically, the first Breton chief to be cited on the continent is
Ivomadus who establishes himself in Blois (Chronicles of Anjou). His
activities take place outside of Conan's Vannetais, in an enlarged
British
occupied territory in Gaul. He and his men are likely to be the remains
of Constantine III's army which had crossed the Channel with him in AD 406.
Although the records seem to name him as a king of Brittany, he may only be
acting in the king's name, or perhaps operating in Blois as a sub-king. As
the Britons are said to control most of the territory north of the Loire by
AD 450, Blois must be part of an extended Armorican (Briton) kingdom until
it falls to Clovis in 491.

410 - ?

Ivomadus

Probably part of
Constantine's army. Occupied Blois.

418

Although still nominally within the
Roman
empire, Armorica is in a persistent state of 'revolt' - meaning that it is
not directly controlled by the empire now that the Britons have detached
themselves and all of their occupied territories - and is almost fully
independent of Rome.

Saxonfoederati and laeti who have been settled on the east coast of
Britain take advantage of
the unrest and openly revolt. By 441, the Gallic Chronicles report large
sections of Britain under German control following Saxon revolt. Communications
between Britain and
Gaul are
disrupted, and the migration of Romano-British towards
Dumnonia and
Cornubia and from
there into Armorica turns into a torrent.

Aldrien would appear to be Geoffrey of Monmouth's semi-mythical Aldroenus,
king of 'Little Britain, called at that time Armorica or Letavia'. After
failing to win support from
Rome
in their hour of need, the
Britons
seek help from Aldroenus, fourth king after Conanus (which would mean that
someone above Aldrien in this list should not be named as a king!). Guithelinus,
archbishop of London, is sent to ask the king to take the crown of Britain, but
the country has fallen so far from its former magnificence that he declines the
offer. Instead he sends his brother, Constantine, with two thousand soldiers.
Constantine is raised to the kingship of Britain.

446

Serious plague hits southern
Britain
and unburied bodies are to be found in the streets of cities such as
Caer Gloui.
It is this point at which the young Ambrosius Aurelianus and his family
are in hiding (traditionally in Armorica), avoiding the vengeful clutches
of Vortigern.

451

The
almost-fully independent Armoricans send units of troops to fight alongside
Rome
in order to halt the advance of the
Huns. The
Battle of the Catalaunian Plains takes place in the former territory of the
Catalauni
tribe.

Despite his great success over the barbarian tribes of
eastern and central Europe, Attila's stalemate against
an allied Roman-led army in 451 was a blow to his prestige,
and his death soon afterwards caused his empire to crumble

c.464
- 468

Budig I
/ Budicus

Son. Named Budicus
by Geoffrey of Monmouth.

fl c.464

Maxent

Brother. Possibly
a co-ruler at the start of Budig's reign.

fl c.460s/480s

Bican Farchog

Brother. A
'Prince of Brittany' according to later stories.

468 - 469

Riothamus,
'King of the Britons', crosses the Channel to
Gaul,
bringing 12,000 ship-borne troops. Riothamus (a title rather than a name,
which would appear to mean 'supreme king'), remains in the country for a
year or more, and advances to Bourges and even further, perhaps reinforced
by Armorican Bretons. Gaul's imperial prefect, the deputy of the
Western
Roman emperor, treacherously undermines him by apparently dealing with
the
Visigoths.

Caught by surprise by the Visigoths, Riothamus fights a drawn-out battle
near Bourges but is eventually defeated when no imperial forces come to
his assistance. He escapes with the remains of his army into the nearby
territory of the
Burgundians,
never to be heard of again. A second battle soon follows which involves a
combined army consisting of units of Romans, troops from
Soissons
under Comes Paulus, and Burgundian foederati, but they are also defeated,
and Soissons and Armorica are cut off from Rome. The disappearance from history of
Riothamus does not rule out the possibility of him successfully returning to
Britain, but this would also be a reasonable date for Arthur to take command
of Britain's defence as his successor.

Having killed his brother Maxenri during an argument, Rivod now sets his
sights on becoming king. He mutilates Maxenri's son, Maelor, thereby making
him ineligible for the kingship (which still apparently operates on very
Celtic lines in that the claimant must be physically undamaged, and able to
ride and wield a sword). However, Rivod's hold on the throne appears to be
about as short as that of his brother.

Merovingian King Clovis
moves quickly to occupy the remnants of northern
Gaul which are still
outside his kingdom. To achieve perhaps his greatest conquest in this period
he he assembles an army which includes at least one allied Frankish
Minor King,
Ragnachar. At the subsequent Battle of Soissons, Clovis conquers the
last of the Roman
territory to be governed by Syagrius in the form of the administration
of Soissons. Syagrius
seeks refuge with the
Visigothic
king Alaric II, but is betrayed, captured, and sent to Clovis, who has
him executed in 487. The hostile Franks now position themselves along the
border with Brittany.

With the accession of Clovis, son of Childeric I of the
Salian Franks, the Germanic occupiers of north-eastern
Gaul had found a king who would change their fortunes
out of all recognition (click on map to show full sized)

c.490

The
powerful Caradog Freichfras is king of
Gwent in mid-south
Wales, inheriting the throne
through his father, Honorius Ynyr Gwent. Following his accession he sails
across the Channel to found the kingdom of
Bro Erech which forms the
heartland of Vannetais and serves as its largest kingdom in terms of
territory.

King Budig II himself is expelled at some point in his reign, during which
time he seeks refuge at the court of Agricola of
Dyfed. The Welsh know
him as 'Emyr Llydaw', meaning 'Emperor of Brittany', which does suggest
that he is king at the time of his exile. Despite the vagueness of most
dates for this period, the reigns of Budic II and Agricola must only
coincide for a relatively short period, towards the the later years of
Agricola's reign, so Budig must regain his position at some point.

Also around this time, according to Geoffrey of Monmouth, there a new
archbishop of Dol in the form of Samson, former archbishop of the
British Church at
York. The archbishop had been driven out of the city by recent
Saxon
attacks. Sadly, although the post may have some historical authenticity
(the archbishopric of Dol is created in 848), the person probably does
not.

491

After
mentions of Riothamus over twenty years before, the only other historically
confirmed fact for Armorica for the fifth century is that the town of Blois
is now captured by the
Frankish
King Clovis, probably the eastern limits of territory occupied by the
Britons within Gaul (Chronicles of Anjou). Clovis also captures
the city of Nantes which he
uses as a headquarters for a
'Breton March',
designed to contain the Bretons to its west. Vannetais now largely assumes
the more traditional borders of Brittany.

511

On
the death of Clovis, king of the
Franks,
his kingdom is divided between his four sons. The Frankish kingdoms of
Orleans
and Paris
are formed on Brittany's eastern border.

The baptism of Clovis in Reims in 496 made him the only
barbarian Christian king and won him increased support from his
former Roman subjects in Gaul. This romantic recreation of the
event was by François-Louis Dejuinne (1786-1844), completed in
1837, while above that is a map showing the state of the
Frankish kingdom at Clovis' death in 511 (click on map to
show full sized)

531

The
Franks
of Austrasia
conquer the
Thuringians.
Portions of territory are lost to the
Saxons,
probably to the Continental Saxons, but there also seems to be a reverse migration of
Germanics
from the east coast of
Britain, where the recent British victory at Mons Badonicus has cut them
off from the acquisition of new lands. These returning
Angles
and Saxons appear to be given land in Thuringia by King Theuderich. However,
it is also at this time, in this century, that the migration of Britons from
the mainland to Brittany is at its heaviest, weakening the British defensive
position for the future.

544?

Hoel
I Mawr

Son. Possible
joint ruler with his father.

According to Geoffrey of Monmouth's semi-fictitious account of the history
of Britain,
Hoel is the son of Budicius, former king of Armorica. His mother is Anna,
sister of Ambrosius Aurelianus, which makes him the first cousin of Arthur.
Hoel aids Arthur in ridding Britain of the
Saxon
menace, although in reality Hoel is born a generation too late to fight
alongside Arthur. His father, however, would have been of an ideal age
to do so.

Conomor 'the Cursed' is said to emigrate from
Britain into the
Vannetais in the first half of the sixth century, and then to build a castle
at Carhaix, the heart of the newly-founded principality of
Poher.
Breton tradition presents Conomor as a local 'bluebeard' who does not spare
the life of his last wife. When threatened by his rival Breton warlords and
abbots, he seeks help from Childebert, king of the
Franks
of Paris,
but is killed around 560 in a battle against Chlotar, Childebert's more
powerful superior.

c.550/560

The
diminutive territory of
Lyonesse may be re-absorbed
into Corniu at a
time in which the peninsula receives extremely little mention in history.
Dumnonia firmly
controls the entire south-west of
Britain. Curiously,
this seems to be around the same time that the first of a short list of kings
appear in Leon in Brittany, which
of course retains very strong links at this time with south-west Britain.
Speaking very theoretically, perhaps the heir to Lyonesse is given British
territory in Brittany in compensation. However, the first of Leon's known
princes is Withur, grandson of Budig II of Vannetais.

Macliau, king
of Bro Erech, had previously entered
into a reciprocal arrangement with King Budig II whereby the two had promised each
other that whichever monarch outlived the other would take care of his son. Upon
Budig's death, Macliau had forced Budig's son, Tewdwr, to flee the kingdom. Tewdwr
now returns to kill both Macliau and his eldest son Jacob.

Chilperic,
king of the
Franks,
sends an army to fight Waroch of
Bro Erech along the Vilaine.
The Frankish army consists of units from Anjou, Bayeux, Maine, Poitou, and
Touraine. The Baiocassenses, the 'men from Bayeux', are
Saxons. They in particular are routed by the Bretons over the course of
three days of fighting. Waroch is forced to submit in the end, and pays
homage by sending his son as a hostage and agreeing to pay an annual
tribute. He subsequently breaks the latter promise, but Chilperic's dominion
over the Bretons (or at least their eastern borders) is relatively secure as
evidenced by Venantius Fortunatus' celebration of it in a poem.

587 - 590

Gunthchramn
of Burgundy
compels Waroch of
Bro Erech to renew his oath
in writing and demands a thousand solidi in compensation for raiding
Nantes. That compensation
has not been paid by 588, even though Waroch has promised it both to
Gunthchramn and Chlothar II of the
Franks.
In 589 or 590, Gunthchramn sends an expedition against Waroch under the
command of Beppolem and Ebrachain. Ebrachain is an enemy of Fredegund,
queen consort to the late King Chilperic, and it is she who sends the
Saxons of Bayeux to aid Waroch.

Gunthchramn of Burgundy is shown here seated next to Childebert
II of Austrasia, in a beautifully-coloured plate from the
Grandes Chroniques de France

Beppolem fights Waroch alone for three days before dying, at which point
Waroch attempts to flee to the Channel Islands. Ebrachain destroys his
ships and forces him to accept renewed peace, the renewal of his oath, and
surrendering a nephew as a hostage. Despite all of this, the Bretons retain
their spirit of independence and refuse to be cowed by the powerful Franks.

The
princes of Cornouaille
now seem to lose their high status as providers of the kings of the Bretons.
Their house is displaced by that of
Domnonia. As mentioned in
the introduction for Cornouaille, some of its early dating is hard to
reconcile against the dates for the kings of the Bretons. With this in mind,
the survival of Concar Cheroenoc until close to the end of the century as
Cornouaille's prince may be doubtful. Is it possible that Domnonia's sudden
rise to power is achieved on the back of a military victory or treachery
against Cornouaille?

Under
Judicaël's reign,
Bro Erech is united with
Domnonia (and probably has
been since 635-637). Judicaël is descended
on his great grandmother's side from Waroch of Bro Erech. As it seems highly
probable that Judicaël, king of Domnonia is also Iudicael, king of the Bretons,
Domnonia's kings probably continue as high kings of Brittany, and Domnonia
effectively becomes the chief state of the colony, their kings listed as kings
of the Bretons. From Iudicael onwards, the kings of Domnonia are also the kings
of the Bretons for as long as they remain independent.

? - 690

Alain II
Hir (the Tall) / Urbien

Son. Combined
with Urbien by Jean-Michel Pognat.

One
of Alain's sons is Budic. Budic's son, Miliau, becomes patron saint of a
town in the east of the former principality of
Leon which later bears his name
- Guimiliau. Miliau himself is beheaded in 792 on the orders of his brother.

Despite
the claims of the
Frankish
Duke Wido (presumably Guido of
Nantes) on his
expedition through Brittany around the year 800, Brittany is still not
a Frankish subject, remaining unconquered by the Carolingians. This is
despite the mighty Charlemagne having created a vast European kingdom
following his conquest of several hard-fighting German states and tribes.
Charles the Younger, dux Cenomannici and commander of the
Breton March, may be
the instigator behind Wido's expedition. It is known that Charles defeats
two attempted Breton rebellions during his time in this post.

814 - 818

Morvan /
Murman / Morman

Not a member of the
ruling family. Killed in battle.

815

During
the lifetime of Charlemagne, Morvan had been a faithful vassal despite a Breton
revolt in 811. With Morvan having been declared king of the Bretons shortly
after Charlemagne's death, the integrity of the
Frankish
empire is threatened because other regional vassals may also feel tempted to
go their own way. The Frankish writers Astronomus and Ermold the Black
view this assumption of kingship as a form of usurpation.

Charlemagne unified all the Frankish states under one ruler
and created an empire that stretched deep into modern Germany,
something that the Romans had never managed

King
Louis the Pious (Louis-le-Pieux), of the
Frankish
empire, sends Abbot Witchar to negotiate with Morvan, which fails. Louis
assembles an army in the spring of 818 at
Vannes, within the
'Breton March' which
at this point is controlled by the Franks. With Lambert of
Nantes in support,
he launches a series of attacks against various Breton fortresses and,
after Morvan is killed in battle, resistance collapses. The Chronicle
of Moissac records Louis returning with a 'triumph of victory',
although the Bretons revolt again in 822 under Wiomarch.

From the
seventh century onwards, as evidenced by Duke Wido's expedition into Brittany, the
Franks
have been trying to force the Bretons to submit to their power. The Bretons have
steadfastly refused to bend under the yoke and become the vassals of their
powerful neighbours. Instead they regularly overcome attempts at domination by
the Franks. In order to put a stop to these rebellions, Louis the Pious
now appoints Nominoë as the first duke of Brittany and chief of the Vannetais
(824). Although Nominoë remains a loyal vassal of Louis during his reign, he
acts as an independent king as soon as Charles the Bald (Charles-le-Chauve)
succeeds Louis (in 840).

Placing Nominoë as first duke of Brittany in 824 appears to contradict the
entries for Wiomarch and Lowenen until 837. Could Nominoë's appointment as
duke be in opposition to the reign of the last two kings? Could it take some
time to quell their opposition? Unfortunately this seems to be unknown. Even
the title of duke of Brittany seems to be an artifice of tenth century
chroniclers, with the Bretons of this time admitting no such thing. They
still see themselves as an independent people ruled by their own princes,
and Nominoë is recorded under many titles, from 'Master of Brittany'
upwards.

826 - 837

Lowenen

Son. Father of Roiantdreh,
who adopted Salomon.

832

The
Abbey of Saint-Sauveur de Redon is founded by Conwoion, a Breton monk,
with support from
Carolingian Emperor Louis the Pious. Redon is a town in eastern Brittany
which has gained its name from the surrounding parish of Riedones. This in
turn has been remembered by the
Franks and Bretons based on the Celtic tribe which has occupied the
region for at least the past millennium, that of the
Redones.

Fighting
in support of Charles the Bald during the
Frankish succession crisis of 840-843 is Lambert II, presumed heir of
the county of Nantes,
who feels somewhat aggrieved when Count Renaud of Herbauges is appointed
count of Nantes instead of him. Lambert sides with Nominoë of
Brittany, Renaud
is killed trying to attack them, and Lambert gains his county as a Breton
ally.

845

With
the accession of Charles the Bald (Charles-le-Chauve) to the throne of
West Francia, Nominoë has been acting entirely independently as the
rightful king of the Bretons. Charles sends an army to quell this upstart
but it is defeated at Ballon, near Redon (845). The ambitious Nominoë,
count of Vannes
(and possibly also of Poher),
does not settle for only one victory. Instead he boldly goes on to conquer
Rennes and
Nantes (with the help
and support of Lambert of Nantes), as well as the provinces of Maine and
Anjou, both at the heart of the collapsing
Breton
March.

Breton territory has by now spread into Frankish lands where the Breton
language is not spoken. It is from these victories that the history of
the dukes of Brittany really begins. In order to gain even more freedom.
Nominoë snatches Brittany from the authority of the archdiocese of Tours.
Instead he founds the archdiocese of Dol, in order to establish a
self-governing Breton church which can continue and support the traditions
of the Bretons.

This fanciful Victorian illustration depicts Nominoe's Vow,
part of a ballad about Nominoë in Barzaz Breiz in
which he vows to avenge the Frankish killing of a Breton
emissary, while above that is a map showing the division of
the Carolingian empire according to the Treaty of Verdun
in AD 843 (click on map to show full sized)

851

Nominoë's
successors, from Erispoë to Alain Barbetorte, vigorously apply themselves to
the protection of the duchy's independence from the
Franks and
Norsemen.
Under the control of Duke Salaün (857-874), Brittany is even expanded
as far as the Cotentin and Laval. It seems to be during this period
that full Breton control over
Vannes,
Rennes, and
Nantes is restored
after a period of being subsumed within the
Frankish
'Breton March'.

King
Erispoe is forced to defeat the
Frankish
Charles the Bald at the Battle of Jengland on 22 August 851 in order to
defend his realm. While Erispoe's reign appears at first to be comparatively
obscure, Geoffrey Tobin has pointed out that Professor Julia M H Smith has
brought together archaeological and documentary records from Brittany,
particularly during the reigns of Erispoe and Salomon. Surviving legal
documents from that period, studied by her, number in the many hundreds,
and provide the evidence for the lives of peasants as landowners with equal
rights under the law, both in theory and in practice. As mentioned in the
introduction, above, the kings and counts of Brittany are required to be
well-trained in law so that they can function as judges in the higher
courts.

The later Count Alan Rufus, first lord of Richmond under King William the
Conqueror, has parentage that links him to
Cornouaille. His Latin
epitaph of 4 August 1093 at Bury St Edmunds describes him as 'praecepto
legum, nitet ortus sanguine regum', ie. 'officer/teacher of the law, in whom
ran the blood of kings'.

857 - 874

Salaun / Solomon / Salomon

Adopted by
Roiantdreh to ensure continuity of ruling dynasty.

863

Brittany's resurgence and power at this time is recognised by Charles
the Bald of the
Western Franks. He negotiates the Treaty of Entrammes with Salaun,
admitting the fact that western Anjou is now part of Brittany and granting
lay abbacy of Saint-Aubin in Angers to the Breton king. In return, Salaun
pays tribute to the Frankish king.

874 - 888

Ninth
century Brittany is a very civilised place in which peasant property rights
are enshrined in law and the powers of the prince (king or duke) are strictly
limited. This is all undone when Salaun, count of
Rennes and
Nantes, is assassinated
and the land overrun by Vikings. Now Gurvand rules in Rennes and Pascweten in
Vannes, and both are
claimants to the throne. Pascweten is Salaun's son-in-law and also one of
his assassins, along with Gurvand, and Wigo son of Rivelen of
Cornouaille.

Neither Gurvand or Pascweten are powerful enough to assume complete control
so they fight it out amongst themselves for two years, and divide the country
until both are dead. Pascweten's brother Alain continues the fight from
Vannes against Judicaël of Rennes until the latter is killed when both team
up to fight the Vikings. Alain now controls Brittany unopposed, although his
numbering doesn't seem to account for two earlier Alains.

The
death of Alain the Great results in instability in the land. With the
succession again disputed, Gourmaëlon, count of
Kernev, seizes power
and declares himself 'Prince of Brittany'. Ownership of
Vannes is unclear
at this time but Rudalt seems to be the count until he is forced to flee
by the Vikings. Alain's son-in-law, Mathuedoï, would seem to succeed him
as count of Poher at the
same time. In Nantes
the name of the current count seems to be unknown, although it is likely
that he is a
Frankish appointee.

The
Loire Vikings invade, slaying Gourmaëlon in battle and occupying Brittany
(until about 939). They establish their main naval base at the mouth of the
Loire (at the southern edge of Brittany's lands), laying waste to
Nantes, and then they
use Brittany as a springboard for attacks on the
Western Franks and the
English (possibly in
support of their kin in
East Anglia).

Mathuedoï, count of Poher is
married to the daughter of the late Alain the Great, and his son, Alan, is
the godson of Edward the Elder, king of
Wessex and all the English.
Mathuedoï puts to sea with a great multitude of Bretons and travels to meet
Edward: 'this king had great trust in him because of this friendship and the
alliance of this baptism'. Brought up from infancy with Æthelstan (Edward's
eldest son), 'Alan is strong in body and very courageous, and does not care
to kill wild boars and bears in the forest with an iron weapon, but instead
uses a wooden staff'.

Having
already encouraged a failed Breton rebellion against the Vikings, the monk
Yann de Landévennec now calls on Alain to return to Brittany, which he does
in 936 with the blessing and support of Æthelstan of
Wessex. Meanwhile,
the future Hugh the Great of
Aquitaine
is organising the return of Louis IV to
West Francia. Alain's campaign against the Loire Vikings is successful
and he is declared Duke Alain II. Then he allies himself with his cousin,
Judicael of Nantes
(called 'Berenger' by the Franks) and Count Hugh II of Maine to attack
the Seine Vikings (the
Normans).
The presence of a powerful cousin in Nantes who bears a distinctive
Late Romano-British/Breton name would strongly signal that this town is
still part of Brittany.

The Viking threat to Brittany was a very serious one, with the
notorious Loire Vikings effectively occupying the duchy between
914-936, before finally being ejected

A
desperate William Longsword of the
Normans
seeks reconciliation with the
Flemish,
but is assassinated at a peace conference. The Norman state collapses as
Louis of
France seizes its lands and captures William's infant heir, Richard.
This Norman defeat also takes the pressure off Brittany.

Brittany
appears to be ruled by the counts of
Nantes at this time,
probably Hoël or Guerech of Nantes. The numbering for Hoels as dukes would
suggest that this particular Hoel is not involved (although this does not
help in Guerech's case).

In 990 Conan the Crooked of
Rennes allies himself with
the count of Blois and attacks Nantes, soon after which the young Count
Alain dies. This leaves Conan the undisputed claimant as duke of Brittany,
succeeding the governance of the regency that has managed the duchy during
the lifetime of Drogo and the somewhat fractured reign(s) of Hoël and Guerech
of Nantes. Conan also has to defeat Judicaël (presumably the son of Hoël
rather than the many others of the same name for this overall period) to
remove any opposition to his rule.

The counts of Rennes retain control of the duchy until 1066. By this time,
West Francia
has finally suppressed a weakened Brittany, and the kings assume the title
of 'Duke of Brittany' (and already appear to have done so earlier in this
century). Even so, they maintain much of their independence until
1532.

In
order to strengthen his position against a belligerent Blois, the sixteen
year-old (or thereabouts) Geoffrey enters into a dynastic alliance with Duke
Richard II of
Normandy. At a ceremony that is held at Mont Saint-Michel, on the
Breton-Norman border, Geoffrey marries Hawise of Normandy, Richard's sister,
whilst Richard marries Judith of Brittany, Geoffrey's sister.

Alan Rufus is first mentioned as a witness (along with his mother Orguen and
brothers Gausfridus, Willelmus, Rotbertus, and Ricardus) to a charter that
is dated to 1056/1060. It is issued by his father, Eozen, to the Abbey of
Saint-Aubin in Angers.

Eozen
(Odo) is one of the sons of Geoffrey, while Count Alan Rufus is Eozen's
most famous son. He is later a companion of the
Norman
duke, William the Conqueror, lord of Cambridge in
England, praecepto
legum (professor of law), builder of Richmond Castle, developer of the
port of Boston, commander of King William's royal household knights,
co-founder of St Mary's Abbey in York, co-supervisor (with King William)
of the Domesday survey, strategist against Bishop Odo of Bayeux's rebellion
of 1088, and both arresting officer and defender of William de St-Calais,
bishop of Durham.

St Mary's Abbey stood on the land between Museum Street and
Marygate in the city of York, to the north-west of York Minster,
founded in 1055 with the support of Eozen, regent of Brittany,
and initially dedicated to St Olave

Also descended from Eozen via Count Stephen of Treguier, and Alan, first
earl of Richmond, is Conan IV of Brittany (1156-1171), of the House of
Penthièvre. Unfortunately, Eozen himself effectively usurps control of the
duchy from the infant Conan II, and has to be seized and imprisoned in 1056
before Conan can rule in his own right.

The
Breton-Norman War is fought between Brittany and
Normandy
after years of sparring and raiding. William the Bastard (soon to be the
Conqueror) has been supporting the rebellion by Rivallon I of Dol against
Conan. The Battle of Dinan takes place in 1065, with Harold Godwinson of
England
fighting on William's side. Conan's forces are chased from Dol-de-Bretagne
to Rennes and he finally surrenders at Château de Dinan in Brittany.

During Conan's campaign of 1066 against Anjou, he captures Pouancé and Segré,
and arrives at Château-Gontier. There he is found dead on 11 December after
donning poisoned riding gloves. Duke William is widely suspected as the
culprit. Conan is succeeded by his sister, Hawise, whose marriage to Hoel of
Cornouaille may have
been a political move to consolidate and stabilise the duchy's eastern and
western regions.

Not to be confused with Duke Alain IV Fergant, who has yet to abdicate and
retire to a monastery (which he does in 1112), Count Alan Rufus dies. He is
first earl of Richmond under King William the Conqueror of
England and
Normandy,
but he has parentage that links him to Penthièvre and
Cornouaille (see the
entry for 1056, above). His Latin epitaph of 4 August 1093 at Bury St Edmunds
describes him as 'praecepto legum, nitet ortus sanguine regum', ie.
'officer/teacher of the law, in whom ran the blood of kings'.

1098 - 1101

Alain
departs for the First Crusade, leaving his wife Ermengarde as regent. The
crusade finds a divided
Islamic
empire governed by the
Seljuq
Turks, and quickly and forcefully carves a large swathe of territory out of it
that comes to be known collectively as
Outremer.

Conan's
son, Hoël V, is disbarred by his dying father from becoming duke. Instead he
is granted the county of
Nantes for his lifetime
(after which it will return to the ducal incumbent). Ostensibly this 'exile'
is due to his bastardy, but possibly also to allow his sister, Bertha, to
become heiress and thereby marry her cousin Alan and secure Brittany's
future.

In 1128, Alain I de Rohan, first viscount of Rohan and viscount
of Castelnoec - also known as Alain the Black - completed
construction of his permanent residences and founded the Priory
de la Coarde at Castenecc and the Abbaye den Bon Repos (shown
here) for the monks of Redon Abbey

1148 - 1156

Bertha
of Cornouaille

Daughter. Wife of
the late Alan, earl of Richmond.

1148 - 1156

Eudes / Odo II

Second
husband to Bertha.

1156

Supported by Geoffrey VI, count of Anjou and husband of Matilda of
England,
the people of Nantes
rebel against Hoèl V and drive him out. Control of Nantes is part of a
larger strategy in the ongoing war in England between King Stephen and
Empress Matilda. At the same time, the hold on Brittany by the House of
Cornouaille comes to
an end with the death of Bertha following her first marriage to Alan le
Noir, count of Penthièvre. Cornouaille's authority over the viscounty of
Leon may end at the same time.
Thanks to this, the House of
Vannes briefly rules
Brittany again under Conan IV, great-great-grandson of Geoffrey I (992-1008).

1156 - 1171

Conan IV
the Black

Son of Bertha
and Alan. House of Penthièvre. Abdicated.

1158

Geoffrey
of Anjou dies, and Conan attempts to reclaim
Nantes for Brittany.
He is opposed by Henry II of
England
who annexes it to his own domains, but Conan is still able to enforce his
will there, effectively reuniting all of Brittany. Henry responds by seizing
the earldom of Richmond, Conan's inheritance, and also takes over in Nantes.

1164 - 1166

Having
faced several revolts by his own nobles, possibly with support from
England,
Conan is forced to appeal to Henry II for help. In return, Henry demands
that Conan's only daughter and heiress, Constance, marries Henry's son,
Geoffrey. In 1164 Henry moves from subtle control of the duchy to overt
control by intervening to seize lands along Brittany's border and also that
of
Normandy.
In 1166 Henry invades Brittany outright in order to punish the local barons.
Conan is eventually forced to abdicate in favour of his daughter (who of
course is married to Henry's son). Henry continues to interfere in Breton
politics throughout his lifetime.

Incarcerated in Rouen Castle, Arthur is never heard of again. He is probably
murdered by his uncle, John of
England.
With him removed from the scene, his sister Eleanor is the heir, but King
John and then his successor Henry III keep her imprisoned from 1202 to
prevent her from succeeding to vast territories outside Brittany.

1203

Eleanor

Sister.
Imprisoned and unable to rule, but still titular duchess.

1203 - 1221

Alice
/ Alix / Alis

Sister. Died aged
20.

1203 - 1213

Guy

Father and
regent.

1213

In
order to stave off this ambitious
English
expansionism, the Breton bishops and barons chose a
French
prince from the House of 'Capétiens' as their duke. This man is Pierre de
Dreux, otherwise known as Pierre Mauclerc or Peter I. On account of his
origins, it may be imagined that Pierre de Dreux would devote himself only
to French interests. Actually, he acts to protect the independence and the
prosperity of Brittany both from advances by England and France. Pierre de
Dreux also introduces the ermine as the heraldic symbol of Brittany. Under
his reign, Brittany enjoys a long period of peace lasting a century, and
the state asserts itself as an autonomous duchy under him and his four
immediate successors.

Duke Peter I of Brittany - perhaps better known as Pierre de
Dreux or Pierre Mauclerc - managed to consolidate Breton power
and independence rather than hand it over to the French monarch

King
Edward I of
England
appoints his nephew, John of Brittany and earl of Richmond, as guardian of
Scotland.
The second son of Duke John II, John wholeheartedly shares Edward's aims
when it comes to expanding the size and influence of the English kingdom. He
is trusted by the English court as a diplomat and negotiator, and his term
as guardian of office witnesses no major upsets, while at the same time his
brother Arthur succeeds to the ducal title in Brittany.

1305 - 1312

Arthur II

Son. Earl of Richmond.

1312 - 1341

John
III the Good

Son. Earl of
Richmond.

1341 - 1364

Following
the death of John III, the War of the Breton Succession is ignited
between Joan the Lame, otherwise known as Jeanne de Penthièvre
(Vannes) of the
House of Blois (essentially the counts of Penthièvre supported by the
French
crown and shown below in green) and John de
Monfort (son of John's hated stepmother, Yolande, supported by the
English
crown).

1341 - 1364

Joan
the Lame

Daughter of Guy
of Brittany, count of Penthièvre.

1341 - 1364

Charles of Blois

Husband and
co-ruler. Killed in battle.

1341 - 1345

John (IV) of Montfort

Son of Arthur II. Rival claimant. Died.

1345 - 1364

John (V) of Montfort

Son. Became sole king as John IV the Conqueror.

1364

The War of the Breton Succession has become part
of the Hundred Years' War overall, with the
French
and English
thrones sponsoring and supporting their candidates. The English candidate,
John (V) Monfort (shown as John IV in French sources because they never
acknowledge the claim of his father), now secures his victory at the Battle
of Auray. The First Treaty of Guérande of the same year establishes John as
duke of Brittany, with the now-widowed Joan the Lame relinquishing her claim.
The 'Golden Age of Brittany' begins in which the duchy is largely able to
enjoy its independence and prosperity.

1364 - 1399

Sir
John V (IV) the Conqueror

Infant son of John IV of Monfort in 1345. Earl of
Richmond.

1373 - 1379

John
is forced into exile in
England
when pressure exerted by Charles V of
France
reveals that John has no support amongst his own barons. While the duchy is
governed by those barons, however, Charles makes the mistake of attempting
to incorporate it directly into France. Bertrand du Guesclin, constable of
France, nicknamed 'The Eagle of Brittany', is sent to enact this in 1378 and
is immediately faced by a barons' revolt. John is invited back from his
exile and makes peace with Charles. But he maintains the duchy's
independence.

1399 - 1442

John VI
(V) the Wise

Son. Acceded as
a minor. 'John VI' in English sources.

1399 - 1403

Joan / Joanna
of Navarre

Mother and
regent. Died 1437.

1415 - 1420

Henry V of
England wins a surprise victory at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. The
young Charles VII of France is dispossessed and a long period of instability
on Brittany's borders appears to be at an end. At the same time, after a
brief attempt by the count of Penthièvre and his supporters to seize the
ducal office, they are forced to surrender the Penthièvre title itself to the
duke.

The Dinan Chateau is located in the medieval walled town of
Dinan, close to Brittany's northern coast and a little way to
the north of the important Breton town of Rennes - the chateau
served as one of the main residences of Duchess Anne (1488-1514)

Eleanore is the daughter of Blanca and John II, king of
Aragon.
Married to Gaston IV, count of Foix and co-prince of
Andorra,
she is already a widow by now (with Gaston dying in 1472). Instead, their
grandson, Francis Phoebus, succeeds as king of
Navarre,
and has already served as the count of Foix and co-prince of Andorra since
1472. (His father, Gaston of Foix, son of Gaston IV, had predeceased his
father in 1470, whilst his aunt, Princess Margarita of Foix had married Duke
Francis II of Brittany in 1471.)

1488

Francis II becomes embroiled in La Guerre Folle ('The Mad War').
He allies himself with
HRE
Maximilian I against
France.
The rebel Alain d'Albret reinforces the Breton army with 5,000 troops that
have been supplied by 'the king of Spain' (presumably
Castille). Maximilian also sends 1,500 men, and Edward Woodville, Lord
Scales, brings with him a force of archers from
England.

Brittany is defeated at the Battle of Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier on 28 July
1488. The power-base of the warring Breton noble leaders is also destroyed,
with Edward Woodville being killed, and Louis of Orléans and Jean, prince of
Orange being captured. Alain d'Albret and the Maréchal de Rieux succeed in
escaping, and play an important part in continuing the conflict (until
1491), but a few days later, on 10 August, Duke Francis is forced to sign
the Treaty of Verger.

He must submit himself and his duchy as a vassal of the king of France,
and must also expel foreign princes and troops from Brittany. The treaty
restricts his ability to marry his children to suitors of his choosing and
requires that he cede territory in Saint-Malo, Fougères, Dinan, and Saint-Aubin
to the king as a guarantee that in the absence of a male successor the king
will determine the succession.

1488 - 1514

Anne

Dau.

1491 - 1499

Anne,
the last independent duchess of Brittany, is forced by the terms of the Treaty
of Verger into an arranged marriage in 1491 with Charles VIII of
France,
following his invasion of the duchy to prevent her marrying the Habsburg
HRE,
Maximilian I. Soon widowed, Anne marries King Louis XII of
France
in 1499.

Wife
of Francis I of
France
since 1514, Claude now becomes queen consort of France and the Union Treaty
of Vannes (the
'Everlasting Union') is signed, creating a permanent personal union between
the crowns of the duchy and France. Brittany and France continue to be
regarded as separate countries, so that Breton aristocrats are classed
as 'Prince Étrangers' ('Foreign Princes') when they attend the French court.
Brittany remains administered in divisions that correspond to Iron Age tribal
territories (even today). In the early and high Middle Ages, the duchy's
government had been decentralised along similar lines, with each region
'ruled' by an hereditary count (or countess).

The Notre-Dame church at Kergrist-Moëlou was built by the
brothers Guillaume and Pierre Jézéquel in the early sixteenth
century, whilst the Calvary to the right was first built in 1578
and, despite extensive damage being incurred during the French
Revolution, it survives today

1675 - 1941

The
1675 rebellion of the papier timbré in the west of
France
also involves Lower Brittany, where it comes to be known as the revolt of
the 'Bonnets Rouges' (meaning 'red caps', as worn by many of the insurgents
while others wear blue caps according to their region). Fomented by a rise
in taxes which is contrary to the privileges enjoyed by Brittany since the
union, it also targets the nobility. A 1718 conspiracy, the Pontallec
Conspiracy, is also an anti-tax rebellion.

In 1789, King Louis of France is unable to impose the reforms he wants
and fails to support his more competent ministers. An economic crisis
aggravated by the
American War of Independence leads the government to
convene the states general on 5 May 1789. Ill-advised and influenced by the
queen, Louis leads the monarchy to its fall. The French Revolution begins on
14 July with the storming of the Bastille prison during a popular uprising
in Paris. On 10 August 1792 the Tuileries is taken by the Paris mob,
signalling the end of the Ancien Régime. The king is deposed and
imprisoned in the Temple with his family, and is condemned to death by a
narrow majority. The parliament of Brittany is suspended and the duchy has
no legal existence. Instead it is divided into five départements. The
former position is reinstated with the restoration of the French monarchy
in 1814.

In 1932, the monument representing Duchess Anne (1488-1514) kneeling to
the king of France as a token of submission, is blown up in
Rennes, by the clandestine
organisation known as Gwenn ha Du.